Around the nation - Gillette News Record

5 Yellowstone National Park bison transferred to Montana tribes

BILLINGS, Mont. — Five bull bison from Yellowstone National Park have been transferred to an American Indian reservation in northwest Montana under an effort to bolster herds of the animals outside the park.

The animals were released into corrals on the Fort Peck Reservation on Friday. They’ll be under quarantine for the next year to ensure they are free of the disease brucellosis.

Thousands of Yellowstone bison trying to migrate outside the park have been sent to slaughter in recent decades to shield domestic livestock from potential brucellosis infection.

The five bulls transferred to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes had been tested repeatedly for the disease.

About 80 bison remain under quarantine at Yellowstone and 56 are at a nearby U.S. Department of Agriculture facility.

California

2nd town isolated by floodwaters

SAN FRANCISCO — An official says a second Northern California community is isolated by floodwaters after a river broke its banks.

Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman said all the roads into the town of 1,000 people along the Russian River north of San Francisco are inundated.

Baxman said Wednesday that crews have been rescuing people from cars stuck in flood waters caused by a series of storms hitting states from California to Montana with rain and snow.

Forecasters say the Russian River in Sonoma County topped 32 feet Tuesday evening and it that it could crest at more than 46 feet by Wednesday night.

Baxman says the area won’t be in the clear until the river start going back down.

To the east Monte Rio, the small city of Guerneville is also only accessible by boat.

Montana

Residents snowed in but don’t need rescue

GREAT FALLS — Search and rescue teams are standing by in case nearly 50 snowed-in residents in rural western Montana need help.

But so far, the 46 residents in Cascade County are managing just fine and don’t need assistance.

Capt. Scott Van Dyken of the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office says the people live in remote cabins accessed by private roads. Snow drifts as high as 6 feet in some areas are trapping people in their homes.

Van Dyken said the homes in the area are remote and off the grid. The sheriff’s office has contacted every family to make sure they have a way of calling for emergency help.

Montanans are digging out from a series of snowstorms that have buried parts of the state this winter.

South Carolina

Girl Scout cookie hero is arrested

GREENVILLE — A South Carolina man who bought more than 120 boxes of Girl Scouts cookies to help the scouts escape the cold has been arrested on drug charges.

News outlets report the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says 46-year-old Detric Lee McGowan was arrested Tuesday on charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

The agency says McGowan is the same man who appeared in a photo that garnered thousands of views and shares online.

Mother Kayla Dillard had shared the photo on Facebook, saying the man paid $540 in cash for all the girls’ cookies so they could escape the cold outside a store near Greenville, South Carolina.

She said she didn’t get the man’s name.

An indictment issued last week says McGowan, also known as “Fat,” is one of several suspects in an ongoing drug investigation. It says he and 10 other people conspired to import drugs from Mexico in late 2018. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says authorities are still searching for one of the suspects.

South Dakota

Proposed bill would allow guns in state Capitol

PIERRE — A South Dakota bill to allow people with enhanced concealed carry permits to bring guns into the state Capitol is headed to the House floor.

The House State Affairs Committee voted 8-4 Wednesday to endorse the legislation. It has already passed the Senate.

Republican Sen. Jim Stalzer, the sponsor, says other states haven’t had issues with allowing guns in their Capitol buildings.

No members of the public testified against the bill. House Minority Leader Jamie Smith opposed the measure, saying he supports the Capitol’s current safety system.

Stalzer’s bill would require notifying security before carrying in the Capitol.

It wouldn’t extend to the Supreme Court chamber or access-controlled private offices.

Last year, 1,615 enhanced permits were issued. They come with requirements that include completing a training course.

— The Associated Press

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